Marine Sets the Senate Straight on Vietnam Defoliants and the Damage Done

– It is clear to many Veterans, Widows, and Damaged Offspring you obviously have no idea what you are talking about –

By Charles Kelley
Camp Carroll Vietnam 67-68 (for Mike)
The Third Marine Division Toxic Chemical Corridor (QL9)

Jim Webb, Senator
United States Senate
Washington, D.C.

Daniel Akaka, Senator
United States Senate
Washington, D.C.

cc: General Eric Shinseki, Secretary Dept. of Veterans Affairs; and Newspapers Everywhere

SUBJECT: Ignorance and/or Arrogance About Defoliants Sprayed in Vietnam

Dear Senators:

Your recent statements about the defoliants used in Vietnam, i.e. Agents Orange, White and Blue and the massive doses per acre in Vietnam by the U.S. Government are absolutely ludicrous.

Neither of you have the knowledge of the facts to make statements like those you have recently uttered about the preliminary presumptive disorders associated to these defoliants. Your statements lack any form of knowledge about:

. Exposure methods, including aerosol
. Environmental characterization of degradation (on top of soil, in the soil, in surface water
supplies, and in ground water supplies such as shallow wells)
. Latest Hatfield reports of environmental dioxins
. Methods of travel of dioxin molecules and half-life in environmental conditions
. The massive amounts of national and international studies on both humans and animals have
concluded many more health impairment issues associated with the defoliants than the three
issues in question. Neither VA nor Congress has added these issues to the approved list of
associated illnesses.
. The dioxin effects are issues “over life” to include, for some victims, generational follow-on
effects including skipping a generation that is still not addressed by this government.
. Ranch Hand scientists testifying under oath in your own Congressional mandated study
concluded dioxin associations and Veteran increases to:

1. Cancers in “all sites”, not just the few you and the VA have allowed
2. Increased paternal exposure birth defects paralleling exactly the medical issues the VA awarded
for maternal exposures for Service in Vietnam not tied to dioxins per se {nice touch on the part of
our lying government}
3. Heart disease
4. Vascular disease
5. Neurological ailments
6. Endocrine disturbances
7. Hematological issues
8. Combinations of ailments in joint weakness, muscle wasting, fever, disabling daily chronic
fatigue, etc.

Veterans have had to continue the fight since day one after Vietnam against government collusion from:

. White House directives to federal agencies not to find associations
. Lack of Congressional concern for personal monetary reasons
. Command influence in the study meant to determine issues. Protocol violations commanded by the White House
. Concluding medical statements changed by the Air Force after they were cleared for publication
as to the findings by government scientists.

Scientists reported several times to Congress the lack of integrity in the $160 million dollar, 25-year study that it is hopelessly flawed because of at least two fatal assumptions. The VA and Congress totally ignored the found scientific evidence with your own EPA and prestigious research groups and prestigious research universities (including international findings of associations – to include sce/dna damages still on-going as of three years ago in Vietnam Veterans).

Senators, the White House command to shelve EPA reports dates back as far as 1979 when we were fighting for our lives, medically speaking. Congress and the VA have totally ignored the neuropsychological/neuropsychiatric issues found associated to the dioxin TCDD – (admitted to even by the chemical companies in 1965 when dioxins exceed their recommendations; and, found in other occupations using dioxins).

It is clear to many Veterans, Widows, and Damaged Offspring you obviously have no idea what you are talking about.

The real question must be “why any Veteran, Widow, or Damaged Offspring or any friends of Veterans who appreciate their service would ever vote for either of you again or any elected official that stands with your ignorant statements and distortion of the truth.”

Both of you have failed to realize the United States Government and its Department of Defense is responsible for killing more Vietnam Veterans and maiming or disabling them than the entire North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong combined could ever have hoped to accomplish.

The lies by our government have been continuous and I hope that one day America.s sons and daughters will see through this government ruse regarding our issues and those of the Gulf War as well. It will become a National Security issue when no one will serve in our military because of elected officials like you; no matter what the bonus and pay scale is for services rendered.

The public needs to know that our government does not stand behind its soldiers and your placating words of thanks really do indeed mean nothing!

The cost of war is the actual dollar cost and the injury, death and overall loss in manpower supporting chemically wounded Veterans. This also includes paying for Department of Defense mistakes created by the arrogance of the Kennedy and Johnson White Houses. Our scientists and those of the international community begged these administrations and petitioned them not to create this “War of Mass Destruction.”

What is so mind boggling and inexcusable in overview is that we tainted, already exposed Veterans were not used to study the development of outside causation of cancers; leukemia; lymphoma.s; multiple myeloma; autoimmune disorders; protein disorders; endocrine issues; blood, liver, lipoid metabolism, neurological, and cardiovascular issues to include stroke and brain atrophy. The entire world missed a chance to study these developing issues at biological levels and perhaps find out how to cure these death and disabilities issues or at least prevent some of them for the entire world and future generations.

Instead our own U.S. Government has done nothing but lie to the Vietnam Veterans as well as deny the existence of government exposures in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Korean DMZ inclusive dates, and many other areas from the military world both home and abroad. Your statements only serve to further emphasize the lack of caring from a Congress and one more President that simply doesn’t give a damn!

You lied about the Mustard Gas Testing, Nuclear Testing, LSD Testing, Project 112 and SHAD testing, you continue to try and lie to us as well as our Gulf War Syndrome Veterans. Senators, both of you even continue your lies to the general population about the real hazards of these pesticides and herbicides that by default create dioxins in the environment.

I am sure those reading this letter will want to go right out and enlist and serve this nation knowing exactly how they will be treated by not only President after President, but our own members of Congress, including the two of you. This government and both of you are contributing to one of the greatest government cover-ups of lies and deceit in the history of mankind. It is time for America to know the truth about the Congressional deception that is going on and the two of you will have Hell to pay at reelection time.